The
eleventh Regional Air Navigation (RAN) meeting of the International Civil
Aviation Organization (ICAO) was held in New Delhi, India for the South-East
Asia (SEA RAN Meeting) Region from 23 November to 14 December 1948.This was the 11th in the
series of conferences designed to cover the major international flying areas of
the world. Sixteen States and two international organizations attended. The
main purpose of the regional meetings were the examination of existing
facilities for airports, navigational aids, communications, air traffic
control, meteorology, operations and search and rescue, together with the
determination of the additional facilities required and the operating
procedures necessary for the safe and efficient development of international
air navigation in the regions concerned.

This RAN
meeting was the first ICAO regional meeting to be charged with the task of
examining and preparing recommendations on the work of the ITUAeronautical Frequency Conference (Geneva
1948), as it affected the Region.

On the
postal history side, the cover shown hereafter was sent registered to
ICAO-Montreal in an ON HIS MAJESTY’S SERVICE envelope using Indian service stamps.
It is postmarked with a special postmark with the text “ICAO SEARAN REG?? NEW
DELHI, 18 NOV 1948”.The cover has a
blank Registry Label with the ink inscription “ICAO New Delhi”. There is a
violet three-line cachet reading “Despatcher, ICAO SEA RAN Meeting Secretariat,
New Delhi”; it is an Origin Cachet or Office of Origin Cachet
(i.e. stamped imprint placed on outgoing mail indicating the office from which
it was mailed).

It is
assumed that the conference post office was opened at least five days before
the start of the conference, since the Meeting Secretariat was already there
making arrangements.